We have set up an automated amono acid analyzer technique to quantitate putrescine, spermidine and spermine in the urine and serum of patients with breast cancer, multiple myelomas, lymphomas, and leukemias. The elevations detected in the urine and serum of cancer patients prior to chemotherapy are thought by us to reflect the spontaneous cell loss factor of the particular type of cancer. Those patients with carcinomas have the highest initial elevation in polyamines in serum and urine, and this is in agreement with the high spontaneous cell loss factor that occurs in carcinomas (i.e, up to 70%). In response to chemotherapy, there is a rapid increase in both putrescine and spermidine in the serum and urine. The elevation appears several hours earlier in the serum than in the urine, which would be expected, and starts to decrease prior to the decrease in urine polyamines. We are in the process of assessing whether the absolute increase can be correlated with the number of tumor cells that have been killed by the chemotherapy. It appears than an increase of over 2-fold in the spermidine concentration of serum occurs only in good responders; whereas poor responders never show increases of that magnitude. Many of the responders have elevations in spermidine that are 5- to 10-fold in both serum and urine. Attempts are being made at this time to find proper controls; i.e., good responders to chemotherapy (leukemia) vs. poor responders to chemotherapy (leukemia), good responders, lymphoma vs. poor reponders, lymphoma, etc. It appears at this time that measurement of polyamines in serum and urine of cancer patients may indicate the current status of the tumor, and may be useful to assess clinical response to chemotherapy or radiation therapy. Research projects are also ongoing in an attempt to determine the nature of the conjugates of polyamines that occur in urine and serum.